6.6 “Friends of Stone”

¶As explained above, a constellation of far-right characters came together in late 2020 as part of the “Stop the Steal” cause. Among them was Roger Stone, a right-wing political operative whose career as a self-trumpeted dirty trickster stretched back decades. Stone is arguably President Trump’s oldest political advisor.²²²²²² See In re Stone, 940 F.3d 1332, 1334 (D.C. Cir. 2019); United States v. Stone, 394 F. Supp. 3d 1, 7-8 (D.D.C. 2019). For example, he worked for Donald Trump’s independent presidential bid during the 2000 campaign.²²³²²³ David Freedlander, “An Oral History of Donald Trump’s Almost-Run for President in 2000,” Intelligencer, (Oct. 11, 2018), available at https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/10/trumps-almost-run-for-president-in-2000-an-oral-history.html. In addition to his political connections, Stone cultivated relationships with far-right extremists, including the two groups charged with seditious conspiracy: the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys.

¶The Select Committee found that at least seven members of the Oath Keepers provided security for Stone, or were seen with him, in the weeks immediately preceding the attack on the U.S. Capitol.²²⁴²²⁴ See Trial Transcript at 3806, United States v. Rhodes et al., No. 1:22-cr-15 (D.D.C. Oct. 17, 2022) (testimony and exhibits showing Kelly Meggs and Jessica Watkins discussed providing security for Roger Stone); Dalton Bennett and Jon Swaine, “The Roger Stone Tapes,” Washington Post, available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/interactive/2022/roger-stone-documentary-capitol-riot-trump-election/; Matthew Mosk, Olivia Rubin, Ali Dukakis, and Fergal Gallagher, “Video Surfaces Showing Trump Ally Roger Stone Flanked by Oath Keepers on Morning of Jan. 6,” ABC News, (Feb. 5, 2021), available at https://abcnews.go.com/US/video-surfaces-showing-trump-ally-roger-stone-flanked/story?id=75706765; Christiaan Triebert (@trbrtc), Twitter, Feb. 19, 2021 4:35 p.m., available at https://twitter.com/trbrtc/status/1362878609334165505 (Kelly Meggs with Roger Stone); Spencer S. Hsu, Manuel Roig-Franzia, and Devlin Barrett, “Roger Stone Keeps Appearing in Capitol Breach Investigation Court Filings,” Washington Post, (Mar. 22, 2021), available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/roger-stone-court-filings-capitol-riot/2021/03/22/c689a77c-87f8-11eb-82bc-e58213caa38e_story.html (Mark Grods with Roger Stone); Andrew Smrecek (@combat_art_training), Instagram, Dec. 15, 2020, available at https://www.instagram.com/p/CI0g8dlhEyG/ (Connie Meggs and Jason Dolan with Roger Stone) (last accessed Dec. 11, 2022).Show full note Text messages released by Edward Vallejo, an Oath Keeper charged with seditious conspiracy and other crimes, show that Stewart Rhodes and Kelly Meggs discussed providing security for Stone.²²⁵²²⁵ Motion for Bond, Exhibit 1 at 76, 90, 96, 98, United States v. Rhodes et al., No. 1:22-cr-15 (D.D.C. Jan. 12, 2022), ECF No. 102-1. Some of these Oath Keepers guarded Stone during an event at Freedom Plaza in Washington, DC on the night of January 5th.²²⁶²²⁶ Christiaan Triebert, Ben Decker, Derek Watkins, Arielle Ray, and Stella Cooper, “First They Guarded Roger Stone. Then They Joined the Capitol Attack,” New York Times, (Feb. 14, 2021), available at https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/02/14/us/roger-stone-capitol-riot.html. Stone was also flanked by Oath Keepers outside of the Willard Hotel on the morning of January 6th.²²⁷²²⁷ Matthew Mosk, Olivia Rubin, Ali Dukakis, and Fergal Gallagher, “Video Surfaces Showing Trump Ally Roger Stone Flanked by Oath Keepers on Morning of Jan. 6,” ABC News, (Feb. 5, 2021), available at https://abcnews.go.com/US/video-surfaces-showing-trump-ally-roger-stone-flanked/story?id=75706765. One of the Oath Keepers who provided security for Stone was Joshua James, who pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy, obstruction of Congress and other charges in March 2022.²²⁸²²⁸ “Leader of Alabama Chapter of Oath Keepers Pleads Guilty to Seditious Conspiracy and Obstruction of Congress for Efforts to Stop Transfer of Power Following 2020 Presidential Election,” Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs, (Mar. 2, 2022), available at https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/leader-alabama-chapter-oath-keepers-pleads-guilty-seditious-conspiracy-and-obstruction. James was also reportedly seen in Stone’s hotel room at the Willard hours before the attack on the U.S. Capitol.²²⁹²²⁹ Dalton Bennett and Jon Swaine, “The Roger Stone Tapes,” Washington Post, (Mar. 4, 2022), available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/interactive/2022/roger-stone-documentary-capitol-riot-trump-election/.

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¶Roger Stone in front of the Supreme Court on January 5, 2021 in Washington, DC. Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

¶Stone has a longstanding, close relationship with the Proud Boys. Stone has taken the Proud Boys oath²³⁰²³⁰ Kelly Weill, “How the Proud Boys Became Roger Stone’s Personal Army,” Daily Beast, (Jan. 29, 2019), available at https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-the-proud-boys-became-roger-stones-personal-army-6. and repeatedly defended the group.²³¹²³¹ See, e.g., Andy Campbell, “EXCLUSIVE: Roger Stone Admits He’s Been Advising The Proud Boys For Years,” Huff Post, (Sept. 22, 2022), available at https://www.huffpost.com/entry/roger-stone-we-are-proud-boys_n_632c57ebe4b09d8701bd02e2. Danish documentarians filmed him working with Proud Boys for years.²³²²³² See, e.g., Documents on file with the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol (Christoffer Guldbrandsen Production), Video files 190926 I bil + fondraiser, 191003 Stone dag 3 backstage fundraiser 2 onstage, 200220. In one scene, filmed in 2019, Stone warmly greets Joe Biggs, a Proud Boys leader central to the Capitol violence. Stone says of Biggs: “My guy, right here.”²³³²³³ Documents on file with the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol (Christoffer Guldbrandsen Production), Video file 190926 i bil + fondraiser. In a 2019 court case, Stone identified Enrique Tarrio as one of his volunteers, explaining that Tarrio had access to his phone and could post to Stone’s Instagram account from it.²³⁴²³⁴ Ryan Goodman and Justin Hendrix, “EXCLUSIVE: New Video of Roger Stone with Proud Boys Leaders Who May Have Planned for Capitol Attack,” Just Security, (Feb. 6, 2021), available at https://www.justsecurity.org/74579/exclusive-new-video-of-roger-stone-with-proud-boys-leaders-who-may-have-planned-for-capitol-attack/.

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¶As mentioned above, Stone, Tarrio and another Proud Boy leader, Ethan Nordean, addressed an impromptu rally in Washington, DC on the night of December 11, 2020. Owen Shroyer, an InfoWars host, was also with them.²³⁵²³⁵ Ryan Goodman and Justin Hendrix, “EXCLUSIVE: New Video of Roger Stone with Proud Boys Leaders Who May Have Planned for Capitol Attack,” Just Security, (Feb. 6, 2021), available at https://www.justsecurity.org/74579/exclusive-new-video-of-roger-stone-with-proud-boys-leaders-who-may-have-planned-for-capitol-attack/. “We will fight to the bitter end for an honest count of the 2020 election,” Stone told the crowd. “Never give up, never quit, never surrender, and fight for America!”²³⁶²³⁶ Ryan Goodman and Justin Hendrix, “EXCLUSIVE: New Video of Roger Stone with Proud Boys Leaders Who May Have Planned for Capitol Attack,” Just Security, (Feb. 6, 2021), available at https://www.justsecurity.org/74579/exclusive-new-video-of-roger-stone-with-proud-boys-leaders-who-may-have-planned-for-capitol-attack/. A few weeks later, on January 2, 2021, Tarrio led a Proud Boys protest outside of Senator Marco Rubio’s home in Florida. The Proud Boys wanted to convince Rubio to vote against certification of the vote on January 6th.²³⁷²³⁷ Georgia Wells, Rebecca Ballhaus, and Keach Hagey, “ Proud Boys, Seizing Trump’s Call to Washington, Helped Lead Capitol Attack,” Wall Street Journal, (Jan. 17, 2021), available at https://www.wsj.com/articles/proud-boys-seizing-trumps-call-to-washington-helped-lead-capitol-attack-11610911596. Stone reportedly called into the event to speak to Tarrio’s crowd.²³⁸²³⁸ Georgia Wells, Rebecca Ballhaus, and Keach Hagey, “ Proud Boys, Seizing Trump’s Call to Washington, Helped Lead Capitol Attack,” Wall Street Journal, (Jan. 17, 2021), available at https://www.wsj.com/articles/proud-boys-seizing-trumps-call-to-washington-helped-lead-capitol-attack-11610911596.

¶One way in which Stone maintained these contacts was through a Signal chat group named “F.O.S.” — or Friends of Stone.²³⁹²³⁹ Documents on file with the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol (Kellye SoRelle Production), CTRL0000060762 - CTRL0000060858 (screenshotting messages in the Friends of Stone chat); Dalton Bennett and Jon Swaine, “The Roger Stone Tapes,” Washington Post, available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/interactive/2022/roger-stone-documentary-capitol-riot-trump-election/; Documents on file with the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol (Christoffer Guldbrandsen Production), Video file 200705.Show full note Two days after the election, Stone sent a text: “We provide information several times a day. So please monitor the F.O.S. feed so you can act in a timely fashion.”²⁴⁰²⁴⁰ Documents on file with the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol (Christoffer Guldbrandsen Production), Video file 201105. Ali Alexander and Stone continued to coordinate about Stop the Steal strategy and events between the election and January 6th.²⁴¹²⁴¹ Hugo Lowell, “Film Offers Inside Look at Roger Stone’s ‘Stop the Steal’ Efforts Before January 6,” The Guardian, (July 8, 2022), available at https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jul/07/roger-stone-ali-alexander-film-jan-6-stop-the-steal. In addition to Alexander, Stone’s “Friends” on the Signal chat included Rhodes and Tarrio.²⁴²²⁴² Document on file with the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol (Kellye SoRelle Production), CTRL0000060802, CTRL0000060798 (screenshots from the Friends of Stone chat).

¶In July 2020, President Trump granted Stone clemency after he was convicted of lying to Congress and other charges.²⁴³²⁴³ “Executive Grant of Clemency for Roger Jason Stone, Jr.,” Department of Justice, (July 10, 2020), available at https://www.justice.gov/pardon/page/file/1293796/download. Then, on December 23rd, President Trump pardoned Stone.²⁴⁴²⁴⁴ Amita Kelly, Ryan Lucas, and Vanessa Romo, “Trump Pardons Roger Stone, Paul Manafort And Charles Kushner,” NPR, (Dec. 23, 2020), available at https://www.npr.org/2020/12/23/949820820/trump-pardons-roger-stone-paul-manafort-and-charles-kushner. Several days later, at a dinner on the evening of December 27th, Stone thanked President Trump. In a post on Parler, Stone wrote that he “thanked President Trump in person tonight for pardoning me” and also recommended to the President that he “appoint a special counsel” to stop “those who are attempting to steal the 2020 election through voter fraud.” Stone also wrote that he wanted “to ensure that Donald Trump continues as our president.”²⁴⁵²⁴⁵ PatriotTakes[American flag] (@PatriotTakes), Twitter, Dec. 28, 2020 3:50 a.m. ET, available at https://twitter.com/patriottakes/status/1343479434376974336. Finally, he added: “#StopTheSteal” and “#rogerstonedidnothingwrong.”²⁴⁶²⁴⁶ PatriotTakes[American flag] (@PatriotTakes), Twitter, Dec. 28, 2020 3:50 a.m. ET, available at https://twitter.com/patriottakes/status/1343479434376974336; See also Ali Dukakis, “Roger Stone Thanks President Trump for Pardon in Person,” ABC News, (Dec. 28, 2020), available at https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/roger-stone-president-trump-pardon-person/story?id=74940512. The Select Committee has learned that Stone discussed the January 6th event with the President, likely at this same dinner on December 27th.²⁴⁷²⁴⁷ Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Transcribed Interview of Kristin Davis, (August 2, 2022), p. 41; Documents on file with Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, (Kristin Davis Production), CTRL0000928609, p. 7 (December 30, 2020, text message from Kristin Davis to Chris Lippe at 6:05 p.m.). The President told Stone he “was thinking of speaking.”²⁴⁸²⁴⁸ Documents on file with Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol (Kristin Davis Production), CTRL0000928609, p. 7 (December 30, 2020, text message from Kristin Davis to Chris Lippe at 6:05 p.m.).

¶The Select Committee sought to question Roger Stone about his relationships with President Trump and far-right extremists, as well as other issues. During his deposition, Stone invoked his Fifth Amendment right nearly 90 times.²⁴⁹²⁴⁹ Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Deposition of Roger Stone, (Dec. 17, 2021). Stone has publicly stated that he committed no wrongdoing and that he encouraged a peaceful protest.²⁵⁰²⁵⁰ Will Steakin, Matthew Mosk, James Gordon Meek, and Ali Dukakis, “Longtime Trump Advisers Connected to Groups Behind Rally that Led to Capitol Attack,” ABC News, (Jan. 15, 2021), available at https://abcnews.go.com/US/longtime-trump-advisers-connected-groups-rally-led-capitol/story?id=75261028.